IndiGo airline operator Interglobe Aviation Ltd.’s (INGL.NS) plans to ride a tourism boom in India and abroad are hampered by a scarcity of planes, CEO Pieter Elbers said Monday.
Elbers told Reuters that the aircraft supply shortfall limited his ability to serve clients.
Air travel has rebounded in India after the epidemic. However, Boeing and Airbus are struggling to fill the worldwide order book for new jets.
“Our operation was half the size a year ago. We’ve prioritized returning to 1800 flights each day.”
Elbers said IndiGo’s 500-aircraft order book would provide “a continuous flow” of deliveries through the decade.
Weeks after Air India announced a record purchase of 470 planes, aviation consultant CAPA India anticipates at least 1,300 additional orders from Indian carriers in the next one to two years.
IndiGo, which has only bought narrowbody planes from Airbus (AIR.PA), is negotiating with Boeing (BA.N) to break Air India’s record of 500 passenger jets, industry sources told Reuters earlier this month.
Almost 400 of the airline’s 830 Airbus A320-family planes are yet to arrive.
Elbers called Airbus’ newest and biggest narrowbody aircraft, the A321 XLR, “all work in progress” for delivery.
“Not yet.”
